By Alastair Sharp and Jim Finkle TORONTO/BOSTON (Reuters) - BlackBerry Ltd has signed a deal to work directly with Ford Motor Co to expand the carmaker's use of its QNX secure operating system, the Canadian technology company said on Monday, as Ford develops increasingly automated vehicles. The deal with Ford is the first BlackBerry has done directly with a major automaker, though it currently sells its technology to auto industry suppliers. The company is betting its future on expanding sales of software products, including to automakers and other manufacturers, after largely ceding the smartphone market to rivals including Apple Inc , Alphabet's Google and Samsung Electronics Co Ltd .



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